You Didn't Tell Me
by youmeandem
Summary: Set during 3x22: "Goodbye", after the dinner Santana and Brittany had with Santana's mom at BreadstiX. One shot.


**A/N: Hi guys. Here's just a quick little thing I wrote a few days ago after watching some Glee. I got feels and everything, and this scene just basically wrote itself. I know it's short and probably full of little mistakes, but hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it. If you enjoy it, please leave a review of any kind. I appreciate it greatly and it is super motivating to keep publishing stuff! Thank you in advance, and, once again, enjoy.**

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_I can't go to either, because I'm not graduating._

The drive back to Santana's place was painfully silent. Mrs. Lopez was smart enough to keep her mouth shut, while her daughter and her girlfriend were sitting in the backseat. Normally they would be all over each other – for as far as it was okay with your mom sitting two feet away. But now Santana was sitting left and Brittany on the right side of the car, and they both stared outside their window. They didn't even hold hands.

After they arrived at the Lopez' residence and Santana's mom had gone inside the house, Santana changed places and sat down in the front seat to drive Brittany home. She watched as Brittany quietly slid into the passenger's seat, not meeting her eyes. Santana bit her lip, as she focused on the road ahead of them.

She was fuming. Her hands clenched around the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were turning white, and she refused to look at her girlfriend. She'd never thought she'd say this, but how could Brittany have been so _stupid_! She should've said something earlier, so they both could work on her graduating. Santana didn't want to graduate without her girlfriend – she didn't want to do anything without Brittany. And now she had no other choice.

They both knew staying in Lima while Brittany repeated her senior year wasn't an option. There was no one else more eager to leave this shithole behind and move on to bigger things than the one and only Santana Lopez.

While they drove, Santana felt Brittany's eyes on her several times. The blonde was an expert at reading everything Santana – she had to know how the other girl was feeling. Part of her wanted to kick the crap out of Brittany, and the rest of her just wanted to hold the girl and never _ever_ let go.

When Santana finally pulled over in front of Brittany's house, the blonde quietly unbuckled her seatbelt. "Thanks for driving me home."

Santana lifted her gaze to look at Brittany. Brown locked with blue, and suddenly the Latina couldn't hold it back anymore. "Why didn't you tell me you weren't graduating _before_ it was too late to do anything about it?"

Brittany slumped back into her seat, staring out of the front window without meeting Santana's eyes. "I told you – I have a 0.0 GPA. What did you think was going to happen?"

"That's not what I mean, Brittany." Santana shook her head. "You didn't say anything about it, so I assumed you were doing better or something."

"I didn't say anything because I _wasn't_ doing better!" Brittany said slowly, turning her head to look at her girlfriend. "I'm just not smart enough to graduate."

"Bullshit," Santana replied immediately, without a second thought. She knew Brittany was smart, but she had to _work_ for it like anyone else. Even Puckerman was probably going to graduate, and he was way more stupid than Brittany. Because he did his best to pass that last geography test. If only...

"I don't know, Santana," Brittany said. There was a sad look in her eyes, and Santana wanted to hug the girl to make things better. But there was no making it better – not this time. She was going to graduate, and Brittany was not. There was nothing to feel good about right now.

"Well, I do." Santana reached over to grab Brittany's hand, and she gave it a soft squeeze. She looked straight into Brittany's blue eyes. "I just wish you would've said something, so we could've worked on it."

"You didn't have to do anything. This is all on me." Brittany pulled back her hand, stepping out of the car. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."

For about three seconds Santana watched helplessly as her girlfriend walked towards the front door of her house. The beats of her Cheerios uniform dancing with every step she took.

And then she felt tears prick in her eyes. She didn't want to go to Louisville or New York or anywhere without Brittany.

Throwing open the door of the driver's seat, she jumped out of the car and ran after Brittany. "What about me?"

Brittany stopped walking, turning around ever so slowly. "What about you?"

A single tear spilled, running down Santana's cheek. The Latina wiped it away furiously, lifting her hands in the air to make a desperate gesture. "I can't do this without you."

She swallowed hard, realizing how true her words were. Suddenly she felt like that scared girl standing in the hallways of McKinley, confessing her love for a cute blonde who didn't always get what was going on. She felt vulnerable, exposing herself like this, and the only reason she dared to was because she knew Brittany would never make fun of her for not being the tough bitch she always pretended to be to everyone else.

But this time Brittany didn't offer hugs, or kisses. She just stood there, staring for a couple of seconds before lowering her gaze. "I'm sorry, Santana. I wish it was any different... but it's not. I'm not graduating. I'm going to be here in Lima for at least another year, and you – you're going to do great things. Whether it's in Louisville, leading your cheerleading team to Nationals, or in New York to follow your dream. But you'll have to do it alone. Because you have no other choice."

And with that, she turned around and started walking towards her front door again.

Santana watched her, as she quietly turned the lock and opened the door, slipping inside without making any sound to not wake her parents or little sister.

She knew Brittany was speaking the truth. She couldn't stay in Lima and be the pathetic girlfriend who had nothing to do but wait until a certain blonde walked the stage at graduating, wearing a red cap and gown with a smile plastered on her pretty face. She knew she'd have to choose between Louisville and New York, and she didn't have much time left to make that choice. She knew Brittany was right, because this was how things were going to be and there was nothing they could do about it.

But that didn't make it hurt any less.


End file.
